China Expects Mandatory Standard for Prohibited Substances in Automobiles

GB/T 30512-2014 Requirements for Prohibited Substances in Automobiles has been under revision for years since 2017 when the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China (MIIT) published a plan to initialize the revision work. The revised version is expected to come in later this year. As planned it will take effect one year later after its publication.

GB/T 30512-2014, which came into effect on Jun 2014, stipulates the prohibited substances in automobile and its components, including Pb (lead), Hg (mercury), Cd (cadium), Cr VI (Chromium), polybrominated biphenyls(PBB) and poly brominated diphenyl ethers(PBDE). According to Mr. Zhang Tongzhu of the National Technical Committee of. Automotive Standardization, the potential updates may include:

Name of the Standard

The standard's name will be changed from "GB/T 30512-2014 Requirements for Prohibited Substances in Automobiles" to "GB 30512-20XX Requirements for Prohibited Substances in Road Vehicles", shifting from a recommended standard to a mandatory one.

Applicable Scope

The applicable scope of the standard will be changed from "automobiles and parts products" to "automobiles, motorcycles and second-class chassis".

Scope of Substances Subject to Prohibition

New requirements for asbestos, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and hexavalent chromium will be added, including:

• Asbestos shall not be detected in the single non-metal homogeneous material of M, N, and L vehicles;

• The PAH of homogeneous materials of parts products that are in direct contact with the human body in M, N, and L vehicles must meet the limit requirements;

• The mass percentage of HBay produced by PAH in M, N, and L vehicle tires should not exceed 0.35%;

• The limit of hexavalent chromium for metal plating was changed from 1000ppm to 0.13ug/cm².

Exemption List

The list of exemptions will be updated, including

• subdividing and modifying exemptions for lead; and

• deleting the exemptions for cadmium and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).

Transitional Period

As shown in the table below, transitional periods for implementation of the revised standard will be offered based on the types of vehicles. There is no transitional period for new applications for M1 vehicles. M2、M3、N2、N3、and L vehicles will have a transitional period of up to 85 months if the permission has been obtained.